The weather said that it was time to move on. Rain is forecast at times over the next couple of days, and we are reasonably keen to not be traveling when it is at its worst. We completed the formalities to check out of Siracusa and said that we will be back in a week or so. There is still much to see in the town.
For once we got the timings absolutely right. There was little or no wind as we motor / sailed south, but we had what is known as "precipitation in sight". We managed to avoid being under the clouds while they were releasing rain, so all was well. We also managed a lengthy conversation with our son in Australia while we were going along. Isn't technology wonderful.
We arrived in Marzamemi in time for a late lunch, and just after they had experienced a downpour. The marinaro seemed pleased that we hadn't made him go out to greet us while it was tipping down. Later in the day the wind increased and we were happy to be tucked up securely before it started.
The harbour with the marinas is rather remote from the town, about 15 minutes walk away. We took the chance to stretch our legs and walk to town to find the one deli in the town.
Just before we were due to turn in for the night, we heard movement outside and saw another yacht coming in. It was a British couple who had diverted here due to bad weather. On their way in to the port, they said that there were no harbour lights to guide them, even though they are marked on the charts. As a result, they had hit the rocks at the harbour entrance. They were understandably frightened and upset by the incident. When we spoke in the morning they said that they did not now think that there was any serious damage to the boat, but they couldn't wait to leave. None of us have ever been to a harbour where the charted lights are not present.
Tuesday was a day of maintenance, and a highly successful one at that. I started by cleaning the inside of the engine bay, which was in need, after the water pump was changed last week. I then moved on to have my third attempt at getting the outboard motor to work. The carburettor was stripped down and cleaned again, and this time, it worked! I was able to get the engine to run properly and idle. It was a triumph, which was applauded by a German guy on a nearby yacht. I was on a roll.
The next challenge was the water maker. We have never used this in all the time that we have had the boat, but we felt we should to be as prepared as possible for our trip across the southern part of the Italian mainland. There are very few marinas in that part of the world, and while we are confident that we will have masses of water, it never hurts to have every insurance policy possible in place. We read and reread, (and reread) the instructions, which we not straightforward, translated badly from French. We had to sterilise the water maker, then flush it through and then potentially get it to desalinate some water. We have an empty water tank that we are dedicating to the water maker in the short term. We made a good start but then hit a problem that resulted in us spending 35 minutes on the phone to a guy at the supplier, but.... in the end it all worked. It was not producing at its full speed, but that was probably down to the marina water being less than perfectly clean. When we try it in a cleaner location, we should be able to desalinate 60 litres of water an hour.
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After all of these triumphs, it was a walk into town for a celebratory meal out. In my case, local tuna with pistachios. It felt well deserved.
Miles Today - 26
Miles 2022 - 327
Steve (and Tricia)
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